


Day 2: No More Secrets

by arcanewiz, monochromekiss



Series: Rinharu Week [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Merfolk AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-14 04:37:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10529091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcanewiz/pseuds/arcanewiz, https://archiveofourown.org/users/monochromekiss/pseuds/monochromekiss
Summary: When Rin was twelve years old he spotted a small boy with a mermaid's tail on the beach. Five years later he is still trying to prove merfolk exist. His friend Haru is the only one who supports him, but that might be for an unexpected reason.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Merfolk Au!

_Rin was walking along the beach after wandering away from his parents and sister. As he took a few steps closer to the ocean, he spotted a small blonde boy among the waves. “Oi! It’s dangerous in there, you idiot!” Rin shouted out to him._

_The boy giggled and disappeared under the water for a worrying amount of time until he emerged closer to Rin, making a show of his tail, he said smugly. “It’s not like I’ll drown.”_

_Rin’s heart skipped a beat for a moment, worrying that the boy might not come back up from the water. He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally emerged before letting out a loud yelp of surprise. “What happened to your legs?!” He squeaked._

_“What about my legs?!” The boy startled for a moment of forgetfulness. “Oh, they’re gone!” He smiled._

_“What?! That can happen?! You mean you had legs before?!” Rin squealed, his eyes wide with shock._

_“I still have legs, they’re just not here right now?” The boy tilted his head softly to the side. “Y’know, if you jump in you might have it happen to you~”_

_“Really?! That’s so cool!” Rin replied excitedly, jumping in the water without hesitation. He stared down at his legs for a long moment through the clear ocean water, pouting when nothing happened. “You lied.” He mumbled._

_“No I didn’t. I said you_ might _, not that you_ would _.” The honey-blonde grinned._

_“You heavily implied it though! You made me think I was going to get a tail! That’s not even funny!” Rin huffed, angrily splashing some water towards the boy._

_“Really?” The boy chuckled, dodging the water by going underwater once more to sneak behind Rin. “I think it’s hilarious!”_

_“It’s not funny at all!” Rin squeaked, nervously turning around and staring down at the pink scaly tail that was where the boy’s legs should be. “So you’re a mermaid?”_

_“That’s rude, I’m a boy!” The honey-blonde huffed with a pout, crossing his arms across his chest._

_Before Rin had a chance to say anything, his sister Gou came running along the beach. “You shouldn’t run off Rin!” She shouted out loudly._

_Rin turned around to face her with a smug look on his face. “Sis, I found a mermaid!” He called back as he pointed to where he thought the boy still was. “Eh?...” He mumbled quietly, staring at the empty space where the blonde boy had now disappeared from._

* * *

 

It had been five years since Rin had seen the mysterious boy with the mermaid tail. No matter how many people he told no one had ever believed him, but he knew that had been real. He was still determined to find proof that merfolk existed.

Rin was sat outside the small tent he’d set up on the beach a few days ago, still watching the ocean carefully for any signs. He was staring so intently at the waves he didn’t even notice Sousuke approaching.

Sousuke leaned down halfway, his hands still in his pockets. “I thought you would have given up by now.”

“I’m not giving up until I find something.” Rin replied, not bothering to look up at his friend.

“You do realize that you have missed almost a full week of work just to stand here and wait for things that might not even be real, right?” Sousuke asked.

“They definitely are real! I really did see one that day and I’m going to prove they exist so you all stop implying I’m crazy!” Rin shouted back angrily. He jumped up suddenly with a startled look. “Wait...a week?! A full week?!”

Sousuke broke out into a grin. “You’ve been camping out here for a week without keeping track of time? You really are an idiot, aren’t you?”

“Well how was I supposed to keep track of time out here?” Rin huffed with a childish pout.

“That’s one of the uses for your phone, y’know? Or did you not bother to bring a portable charger with you?” Sousuke raised an eyebrow.

“I forgot, okay?” Rin mumbled. “I guess I better go back. Why did you come all the way out here anyway? Just to get me?”

“Well yeah, I’m not gonna let you die out here looking for something you saw _five_ years ago.” Sousuke rolled his eyes.

“Fine. But I’m not giving up completely.” Rin replied as he started to pack away his things.

* * *

 

“Where have you been?” Was the first thing out of Haru’s mouth when he sat next to Rin on the bench located in the campus’ garden, backpack on his back and hair ever so slightly damp. “I haven’t seen you in days and was getting worried.”

“I was only camping out on the beach again. You didn’t have to worry that much.” Rin sighed, leaning his head back against the bench and staring up at the sky. “Hey Haru, you don’t think I’m crazy like everyone else does, right?”

Haru blinked and tilted his head softly to the side. “No.” He frowned slightly. “I believe you, and I think that it’s good you have… Ambitions.”

“You’re the only one who does believe me. I think if it wasn’t for you, I would have started thinking I’m crazy too.” Rin replied.

“They’re just hard to find, they’re not even supposed to expose themselves.” Haru replied. “However, I don’t like that you’re putting your studying at risk for something like that.”

“Yeah, I get it. I won’t worry you anymore and I’ll catch up with that.” Rin shrugged as if it was nothing, although he really did have a lot of assignments to finish. “I guess back then that kid was a total idiot for just showing me. He seemed like an idiot.”

“Yes, so you’ve told me.” Haru sighed. “It’s more of a safety precaution than anything, maybe he’s gotten some sense knocked into his head by now.”

“I guess...why do you seem to know so much about it anyway? Everyone else thinks I’m mad but you believe me and even seem to know why I can’t find one again.” Rin asked with a curious look.

Haru sat in silence for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse. “It has been brought up a few times during class,” He cursed at himself because it sounded like more of a question than anything.

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Rin huffed, rolling his eyes a little. “That sounds like a really bad lie. Seriously Haru, you know how much this means to me. If you know something then tell me.”

“I did research so that I could keep up with you.” Haru replied more firmly, it wasn’t a _total_ lie

“If you say so. But for someone who says they love water so much, you never swim or even go anywhere near it. Isn’t that kind of weird?” Rin asked.

“I do swim, you’ve just never seen it.” Haru replied dryly. “I went swimming before I found you, actually. I expected to see you at the beach again.”

“But why the hell have I not seen it?!” Rin snapped impatiently as he stood up from the bench. “We’ve known each other for so long now, and I’ve never seen it. Whenever I ask to swim together, there’s always some excuse so you can avoid it. I just want to share that experience with you so why?!” He shouted. The sudden loud argument attracted the attention of several other students but Rin chose to ignore them, instead focusing on staring down at Haru.

Haru shifted awkwardly as he felt everyone looking at them. “Calm down. You’re making a scene over something stupid.”

“I don’t care! It’s not stupid to me! I just want to swim with you!” Rin screeched despite the various onlookers giving them puzzled looks.

“Rin,” Haru groaned. “We can swim together once the time comes. Please stop getting us so much attention, I don’t like it.”

“Once the time comes...you keep saying that.” Rin mumbled quietly. He quickly picked up his backpack and swung it over his shoulder, storming off before Haru had a chance to say anything further.

Haru got up to call out to go after him, hugging his backpack close as he pushed past the crowd but by the time it was clear, Rin was nowhere to be found.

* * *

 

Rin had somehow managed to go a full week without talking to Haru after their argument, if it could even be considered an argument since it was just him shouting and then storming off. It didn’t feel right not having Haru to talk to, and Rin had a constant feeling that something was missing. But he was far too stubborn to be the one to talk first, and Haru seemed to just be leaving him to calm down.

Rin knew this couldn’t keep going on. It was hurting them both, and everyone else who could sense the tension between them. But even so, he was still annoyed that Makoto had decided to get involved. _I need to get up early to take Ren and Ran somewhere, so can you go and get Haru tomorrow?_ Was the obviously made up excuse Makoto had offered. That was why Rin now found himself outside Haru’s house, banging repeatedly on the door and shouting for him to get up but with no success. “Screw this… I have better things I could be doing.” Rin mumbled to himself before forcing his way in.

Haru was sitting in his bathtub, not bothering to open his eyes to check who it was that came in because he was sure it was Makoto coming to get him again. Makoto would be the last person to break their routine so he kept himself thinking of a million other things because he was tired of his non-stop thoughts of Rin and how much of a gap he actually leaves in his day-to-day life.

“Seriously, I’m not in the mood for-” Rin started as he shoved the bathroom door open but his rant came to abrupt stop, and he froze at the odd sight in front of him. Haru was sitting in the bathtub with his eyes closed, which wasn’t that surprising. However, what was surprising was the long blue tail that was curled up in the space where two legs should be.

“Hey, Makoto, can you help me u-” Haru cut himself off mid-sentence when his eyes opened wide to see that Makoto wasn’t the one standing over him like it should have been and that Rin was the one staring at him instead. There’s no point in hiding it anymore, Rin knows what Haru is now and if anything, it’s a good  thing because he’s been wanting to find another one for years now. However, the whole point in hiding it from Rin was so he wouldn’t tell anyone about it since it could endanger not only him but the entire species, he started feeling anxious but tried to keep his outside appearance calm. “You’re… You won’t tell anyone right? I know you’ve wanted to boast about proving merfolk are real for a long time now but I’m begging you not to…” He mumbled, curling in on himself.

Rin stared back at him for a long moment, his mouth hanging open as he struggled to articulate what he wanted to say. “You’re an idiot…” He managed to huff after a long awkward silence. “Do you really even need to ask? I mean, yeah… I’ve wanted to prove merfolk are real for ages. But obviously you’re more important to me than that!”

Haru looked up at Rin, slightly shocked. “I am?”

“Yes! Obviously! I can’t believe I even have to say it out loud!” Rin groaned loudly, folding his arms across his chest.

“Your actions are what makes me question your feelings for me.” Haru huffed.

“Shut up…” Rin mumbled quietly, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks as he walked over to the bathtub. Without even bothering to ask if Haru still wanted help he wrapped his arms around Haru’s shoulders, letting out a frustrated sigh when he only managed to lift him a few inches out of the water. “Why the hell do you have to be this heavy?”

“I’m not heavy, Makoto lifts me up in one go.” Haru smirked softly.

Rin’s eye twitched slightly in annoyance and he suddenly felt tempted to just dump Haru back in the tub and leave him there, but he wasn’t going to back down that easily. “Shut up! It’s your fault for making me do all the work! At least hold on to me or something!” He huffed.

Haru chuckled quietly and wrapped his arms around Rin’s neck to make it easier for him.

Rin tried to ignore the way his heart started beating faster, focusing instead on pulling Haru up. He gave one last heave before letting out a loud yelp and falling to the floor, Haru landing awkwardly on top of him.

Haru let go of Rin to brace himself with his arms instead, huffing as his cheeks flushed red at how close the two were, he looked away and ignored how his heart skipped a beat. “For someone who swims so often, your upper body strength isn’t the best..” He mumbled.

“How would you know? It’s not like we ever swim together.” Rin pouted, tilting his head away to try and hide how red his cheeks were.

“I’ve always wanted to swim with you, I just… You know..” Haru sighed. “No more secrets, yeah?”

“Yeah. No more secrets.” Rin nodded with a bright smile.

“No more secrets.” Haru echoed to himself as he mustered up the courage to lean down and close the space between them with a soft kiss to Rin’s lips, his heart started racing and he reminded himself that this could make or break his relationship with Rin.

Rin’s cheeks turned almost as dark red as his hair, his heart racing and his eyes wide with shock. “Ah...i-idiot…” He managed to squeak, planting a gentle kiss to Haru’s lips in return. Rin had spent five years searching for something he thought he might never see again, but had ended up discovering something even better. His feelings for Haru.

**Author's Note:**

> Nagisa disappeared on purpose to make everyone think Rin's coo-coo, that's true friendship if I've ever seen it
> 
> \- A


End file.
